Guwahati Dec 23 PTI The Assam Cattle Preservation Act 2021 was amended in the assembly on Thursday empowering the police to enter the house of an accused and inspect search and seize properties acquired in the last six years with money earned from illegal cattle trade Amid a heated debate during the passage of The Assam Cattle Preservation Amendment Bill 2021 Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said he wants to convey the message that Assam is a tough state while dealing with unlawful cattle tradeThough opposition members had brought in several amendments to the bill introduced on December 20 the suggestions were withdrawn after Sarma spoke except those of Independent MLA Akhil Gogoi who stuck to his stand that the entire Act is unconstitutional and communal in nature On August 13 the assembly had passed The Assam Cattle Preservation Bill 2021 banning cattle slaughter and sale of beef in areas where Hindus Jains and Sikhs are in a majority or within a five-kilometre radius of a temple or satra Vaishnavite monasteries or any other institution as maybe prescribed by authorities A new section has now been inserted in the Act that empowers an investigating officer to enter inspect search seize and detain an accused and hisher movable or immovable properties accumulated in the previous six years with the income from illegal cattle tradeProvided that the burden of proving that the property so attached or seized has not been illegally acquired through sale or transportation of cattle in violation of any of the provision under this Act shall be on the person affected a part of the amendment said On Gogois criticism about the burden of proof on the accused Sarma said other acts like the POCSO Act and NDPS Act along with the Foreigners Act also put the onus on the accused to prove himself or herself innocentThe amended Act omitted a provision wherein the state government was authorised to exempt certain places of worship or occasions for slaughter of cattle other than calf heifer and cow for religious purposesThere is no restriction on buffalo sacrifice in the temples and it can go on anytime without any permission from the competent authority However there will be no sacrifice of cows in the temples or any slaughter Sarma said It also allowed transport of cattle from one district to another within the state by issuing permits to agencies and farms registered under the Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Department for bona fide agricultural or animal husbandry purposes or for transportation of cattle for trade for the said purposes However transport of cattle to any district within Assam that has an international boundary is prohibited under the amended Act We want to stop only the slaughter of cows and do not want to destroy the agrarian economy That is why we have allowed intra-state transportation of cattle We have prohibited the boundary districts to stop smuggling of cows to Bangladesh the CM said Further the amendment Act allowed sale of seized vehicles boats and vessels except cattle through public auction after being produced before the appropriate court during inquiry or trial The vehicles will be sold to stop the remaining cattle trade that is still going on Around 20-30 per cent illegal trade is still happening Sarma said He informed the House that after the Act was passed in August 406 cases were registered 2808 cattle rescued 240 persons arrested 68 vehicles seized one person killed in police action and five others injured The chief minister said he is acting as per the election manifesto of the BJP which has received a huge mandate from the people to run the government I am a CM to realise the dreams that I have seen I dont care I dream of Assam touching the sky he said Sarma appealed to people to slowly shift from the business of beef as any violence against animals is bad He also said a Rs 1400-crore project is being planned in association with the National Dairy Development Board NDDB to increase the milk output of the state to 10 lakh litres per day Earlier participating in the discussion on the Bill Congress member Kamalakhya Dey Purkayastha urged the government to abolish the new clause to empower police to enter search and seize six years properties of an accused on suspicion that these were procured through wealth from illegal cattle trade Congress MLA Abdur Rashid Mandal slammed the government over the amendment and said it will give enormous power to the police and will legalise injustice AIUDF member Aminul Islam said there should not be any restriction on inter-district movement of cattle for agrarian purposes including districts sharing an international border CPIMs Manoranjan Talukdar said the Act is already having an adverse impact on the rural economy with many cattle markets shut down and the poor farmers feeling the pain PTI TR RBT RBT

Guwahati Dec 23 PTI The Assam Cattle Preservation Act 2021 was amended in the assembly on Thursday empowering the police to enter the house of an accused and inspect search and seize properties acquired in the last six years with money earned from illegal cattle trade Amid a heated debate during the passage of The Assam Cattle Preservation Amendment Bill 2021 Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said he wants to convey the message that Assam is a tough state while dealing with unlawful cattle tradeThough opposition members had brought in several amendments to the bill introduced on December 20 the suggestions were withdrawn after Sarma spoke except those of Independent MLA Akhil Gogoi who stuck to his stand that the entire Act is unconstitutional and communal in nature On August 13 the assembly had passed The Assam Cattle Preservation Bill 2021 banning cattle slaughter and sale of beef in areas where Hindus Jains and Sikhs are in a majority or within a five-kilometre radius of a temple or satra Vaishnavite monasteries or any other institution as maybe prescribed by authorities A new section has now been inserted in the Act that empowers an investigating officer to enter inspect search seize and detain an accused and hisher movable or immovable properties accumulated in the previous six years with the income from illegal cattle trade PTI TR RBT RBT

Guwahati (Assam) [India], December 18 (ANI): The Assam government has amended a section Assam Cattle Preservation Bill, 2021 to allow transportation of cattle from one district to another, which was barred earlier, informed Ashok Singhal, State Cabinet Minister.